


Two Sides of the Same Coin

by snwwhite



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: F/M, My First Work in This Fandom, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: First Class (2011)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 20:35:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11562849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snwwhite/pseuds/snwwhite
Summary: Lara and Kira Clarke were orphaned young when their parents were killed in a mugging on the streets of London. Upon the death of their foster father, the two twins flee to America to start a new life, but living on the streets of New York isn't easy when you're only teenagers. When Charles and Erik come looking for mutants for Division X, the twins join up with them with the promise of learning to control their powers and finding people to fit in with. Drama and romance ensue, and Lara and Kira find out just how different the two of them are.





	1. Chapter 1

Black painted lips pulled into a smirk as she pocketed a wad of bills, her victims walking away mumbling profanities under their breath. Today had been especially profitable; she swore the people of New York got dumber and more gullible with each passing day. Simple sleight of hand tricks were all it took today to relieve people of their extra cash. Her smirk softened into a small smile as she thought about how she had made enough today to bring her sister home something special. The poor girl had been struggling even more than usual lately and she planned to stop at the bakery down the road from their meager apartment to pick her up an apple pie--her favorite. 

Even though she tried not to think in such ways, she couldn’t help the passing frustration that bubbled within her at the thought of her sister. She loved her twin dearly, but shouldering the burden of providing for both of them alone weighed heavily on her shoulders. She knew that her sister couldn’t do much in her condition and she’d never hold something she couldn’t help against her. She was just tired, tired of worrying about both of their survival. 

“Hello,” a warm, accented voice greeted her, jarring her out of her thoughts. Jade eyes met blue as she looked up at the man in front of her table. It was a nice surprise to hear someone else’s accent match her own. The fellow Brit had a kind face and neatly styled brown hair. Another man stood behind him; he was taller and had a cool, confident presence. While the first man smiled her, the second’s face remained stoic and impassive. Her curiosity was peaked. 

“Hi boys,” she greeted, forcing her voice to sound alluring. “Can I interest you in a game?” She could tell these men wouldn’t be as easy to fool as most, but she remained confident. She had a few special tricks up her sleeves, after all. 

“Well, why not?” the British man agreed, a smile still plastered on his face. 

“It’s a simple one, I’m sure a smart man like yourself will have no trouble winning.” She chose the 3 cup, one ball trick--simple, yes, but a classic for a reason. She let him guess correctly a few times to bolster his confidence, before enacting the actual trick. She repressed her smirk, anticipating the extra cash she was about to pocket. 

“The left cup,” he guessed. She was about to savor in her victory when she realized he was correct. She swallowed her surprise. No matter, she would just pull out the big guns.

“You’re so good at this!” she cooed, pouting slightly. “One more round?” 

“Sure,” he agreed. The other man’s lips quirked into an amused half-smile, though she missed it entirely. This time she let the power flow through her fingertips as she shuffled the cups, creating the illusion that one cup clearly contained the ball when in fact another one did. Confident that her illusion would hold, she looked up expectantly. The British man lifted a hand and pressed his finger to his temple, letting out a soft “hmmm.” 

“The middle cup,” he stated, an eyebrow raised as if to say is that all you got?

“H-how…?” she stuttered, baffled that he saw through her fail-proof powers. 

“We’re just like you, Kira,” the second man said, his deep voice donning a German accent. At the sound of her name panic welled up in her chest. She was very careful not to ever give anyone her real name, so how he knew it she had no idea. 

“Do not be alarmed, Kira,” the Brit assured. “My name is Charles and my friend is Erik. At the risk of sounding even creepier than I’m sure we already seem, would you kindly take us to your apartment so we can talk? It would be best if we talked to Lara as well.” 

Kira’s green eyes darted back and forth between the two men, not sure what to make of them. What if they were here to arrest her? The one was British; what if they found out what she did? She quickly flipped the table over at them, her props scattering. Bolting off in the opposite direction, she moved her legs as fast as she possibly could. 

All of a sudden she felt a tug pull her neck backwards, her chain necklace choking her on its own accord. She coughed violently as she struggled to continue her getaway, which proved to be futile. 

As sudden as it began, her necklace released her. She gasped as the air rushed back into her lungs. 

“Sorry,” a German voice said behind her. “I thought your belt was metal; forgot about your necklace.” 

“Excuse me?” Kira rasped, still coughing, confusion etched over her features. 

“The chain,” he said simply, as if that cleared everything up. He sighed at her still confused face. “I manipulate metal.” 

“Oh.” 

“If it puts your mind at ease, my dear, I am not with the police. We are not here to arrest you for what happened to Mr. Kole.” It most certainly did not put her mind at ease; how the hell did he know about Henry? “I’m a telepath.”

“What number am I thinking of?” she asked skeptically. 87.

“Eighty-seven,” he replied as she thought it, Erik snickering beside him. 

“A telepath,” Kira said, testing the words as though if she said it she would suddenly believe it. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised; after all, her and her sister were prime examples that such things were possible. “Alright, but why exactly should I bring you back to my home? You: complete strangers.” 

“I understand your skepticism Ms. Clarke, however there are two simple reasons.” At her impatient look, Charles continued. “We can take you to others like yourself…” he began, pausing to put a smile on his face.”

“And…?”

“And,” he continued, “I can teach your sister to control her abilities.”

Well damn, that changed things.


	2. Chapter 2

Lara Clarke laid curled in a ball in the middle of her small bedroom, blanket pulled tight around herself as though it had the power to ward off the emotions flooding her. Not for the first time she found herself cursing the neighbors next door for moving in the apartment beside them. The other apartment had been blissfully unoccupied until now, which had granted her a reprieve from being constantly overwhelmed by other people’s feelings. But of course it didn’t last.

Waves of anger spread through her veins as she heard two of her neighbors get into a screaming match. This was not uncommon: she got the sense that the parents of the family were very unhappily married and fought constantly. A pang of sadness stabbed her heart, probably from the youngest child hearing her parents scream at each other. As if that wasn’t enough, bitterness clawed at her insides and she guessed that was from the older sister, probably resenting her parents for fighting in front of her baby sister. 

The multitude of emotions overwhelmed her and she felt tears streaming out of her eyes as her skull pounded violently. Sobs wracked her chest and she prayed for it to stop. 

She heard the front door open and felt her sister’s presence through her always complex emotions: the heavy weight of her stress on her chest, the pity she felt towards Lara pulling at her heart, and lastly the usual small pricking at her heart that was a result of her hidden resentment towards her for being so useless. Her silent sobs turned to strangled gasps as the three new emotions added on top of the others already wreaking havoc on her. 

Her door flew open and she just barely registered her sister call out her name; all the sounds around her were muted, as though she was listening underwater. This wasn’t uncommon; sometimes the barrage of emotions hindered her other senses. 

When she saw the outline of a man through her blurred vision come towards her she scrambled away, backing herself into the corner of the small room. Her own panic was the spark that finally set off the volatile mix of unstable emotions within her. 

Doubled over in pain, her delicate hands pulling at her hair and eyes squeezed shut, she was completely unaware of the chaos ensuing around her.

***  
Whatever Kira expected to happen when she brought the two men back to her dingy apartment, this was definitely not it.

Upon entering the room they had heard Lara’s strangled sobs and she had immediately rushed into the room to find her twin having what she could only describe as a fit in the middle of the floor. She had screamed Lara’s name, panic surging through her at the sight of her sister in so much agony. 

Charles had approached Lara cautiously, which only caused her to throw herself into the corner of her room. Tears streamed down Kira’s face as she saw her sister hunched in a corner, screaming in pain. She felt Erik put a gentle hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her. It did little, but she would later appreciate the sentiment. 

Just then Charles let out a scream of his own, his voice breaking from the force of his agony. One of his hands went to his head and the other to his chest, gripping both as though his life depended on it. 

“Charles!” Erik called, concern evident in his voice he he ran over to check on the telepath. 

“I tried to...calm her mind,” he forced the words out, breathing heavy at the exertion. “She lashed out…” he screamed again before gritting his teeth and forcing out the rest of his explanation. “She’s projecting...I can’t…” 

Kira couldn’t take hearing her sister’s screams, or Charles’ for that matter, any longer. Desperate to help, an idea came to her mind. She rushed over between them, laying a hand on both of their arms. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, creating the illusion that both of them were alone in a room. She focused the illusion to include peace in all senses: it was quiet, no one was around for them to pick up their thoughts or emotions, they were calm, happy. 

Slowly, Lara and Charles relaxed as the illusion took hold, their screams subsiding. Hesitantly, she released Charles from the illusion first. His eyes refocused and he looked at Kira in awe. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, trying to catch his breath. Still occupied with keeping her sister wrapped up in the illusion, she nodded.

“Help,” she said shortly, not able to talk and hold the illusion at the same time. 

Charles reached out, cradling Lara’s head in his hands. He closed his eyes and Kira waited with baited breath. A few moments later, his sister’s eyes shut and she slumped against the wall.

“I eased her into unconsciousness,” he explained. “She’ll remain asleep for awhile. We should take her somewhere where she’ll be okay upon awakening.” Kira could only bring herself to nod slightly before standing up on shaky feet. She had never used her powers in such a way before and she was feeling the effects of exerting so much energy. Strong arms gripped hers in support and she muttered a thank you to who ended up being Erik. 

Charles, though still weak from her sister’s accidental assault, bent down and scooped Lara’s unconscious form into his arms. He silently left the room, the other two following wordlessly behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

When Lara’s eyes opened she noticed through her blurred vision that she was in a white room, one that was very brightly lit. A jolt of panic rushed through her as her hands searched for her glasses. The bed she was laid in donned a ridiculously plush comforter and she found herself getting tangled in the foreign material in her desperate search. 

Long fingers reached out in front of her gaze, her glasses in their grasp. She quickly grabbed them and slid the square frames up the bridge of her nose. As her world came into view, Lara saw a young man standing before her with a gentle smile gracing his features. He sat down on the edge of the bed, the action done cautiously as though he was trying not to scare away a skittish animal. She did not recognize this man nor the room in which she was in, though neither was what startled her the most.

“Why can’t I feel you?” she whispered, confusion laced in her words. She always felt every person’s emotions, without fail, no exceptions. But right now Lara didn’t even feel a hint of any emotion other than her own. Was something wrong with him? Was something wrong with her? 

Nothing is wrong with you, Lara.

The words appeared in her mind, a whisper flittering through her thoughts. The disembodied voice made her jump in surprise, though it was somehow also soothing and she felt her nerves calm. The man in front of her smiled again, a bright twinkle in his blue eyes. Something in her mind clicked.

“You’re a telepath,” she guessed and was rewarded with an even wider smile.

“Yes, very good Lara!” the same voice praised, now coming from the man’s moving lips. 

“You know my name, may I know yours as well?” She thought it was only fair. After all, he probably knew more about her than she cared for him to at this point.

“Right, of course! My name is Charles Xavier,” he offered pleasantly, embarrassed by his lack of manners. He had meant to introduce himself right away, but found himself continually distracted by her eyes: one was jade, just like her twin’s, and the other was a stunning aquamarine. He wondered idly if they were a result of her mutation. 

Lara, on the other hand, felt increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze, not unaware that he was staring. 

“It’s Heterochromia,” she explained when she realized what he was staring at. “I was born with it, while my powers didn’t show until I was twelve, so I assume they are not related.” 

“Are you sure you’re not the telepath?” he joked with a chuckle. A small giggle escaped her lips.

“It’s not the first time someone has looked at my eyes that way. It wasn’t hard to make the leap.” Lara realized then that her question from before had gone unanswered and her features pulled into a small frown. “You never answered me.” Charles sighed.

“I am blocking myself from your empathy. We,” he began before sighing again, heavily this time. She gave him an expectant look, urging him to continue. “We felt it would be best after what happened in your apartment.”

Panic shot through her as she suddenly remembered flashes of the events of which he spoke. It was fragmented, but she clearly remembered a lot of screaming and not all of it was hers.

“Oh god,” she choked out, now beginning to hyperventilate. “I hurt you, didn’t I?” Suddenly feeling as though the strange sheets were confining her, Lara jumped out of the bed and began to frantically pace the floor. Her hands gripped her hair in an attempt to ground herself. She felt soft hands gently grab her arms and turn her around. 

“Breathe, my dear. I am completely fine,” Charles assured, keeping his voice low. Her mismatched eyes searched his blue ones, trying to discern whether or not he was lying to her. “Your sister created an illusion on both of us, blocking out all our senses. It stopped the onslaught. It was quite brilliant, really.”

“Kira!” Lara exclaimed, suddenly ripped back into reality: the reality that she had no idea where she was or if her sister was nearby. She pulled herself away from Charles, searching the room for something to quell her growing uncertainty. 

“She is here as well, with the others.” 

“The others?” She asked, eyebrows knitting in confusion. Charles simply smiled.

“We are at a secret CIA facility where there exists a division of fellow mutants. Your sister is safely with them on the other side of the base.” Lara let out a disbelieving snort.

“Kira agreed to be brought to a government facility?” 

“Yes, for a simple reason: I can help you learn control.” Lara’s gaze, which previously had been wandering the room, snapped immediately to meet Charles’ eyes. 

“What?” she whispered, voice breaking, not wanting to get her hopes up.

“We are not so different, you and I. I can hear thoughts, and even when I am not trying I can still hear whispers. Sometimes it overwhelms my mind, just like others’ emotions overwhelm you. I can help. You won’t have to suffer anymore.”

A lone tear dripped from Lara’s long eyelashes and a bright smile appeared on her face for the first time in a very long time. 

“Teach me. Please.”

***

Across the facility Kira sat on a couch with a group of other people around her age. She felt mildly uncomfortable in the presence of so many other people; she lived a rather isolated life up until now, the only company she ever kept was that of her sister. After all, her twin had always been the only other person to ever understand her.

Now she hadn’t seen her sister in over 24 hours and there were five others in this room who had abilities, just like her; she didn’t know what to make of it.

“We should think of code names!” the pretty blonde girl--Raven was her name, Kira recalled-- sitting next to her suddenly exclaimed, silencing the rest of the voices. Everyone looked at her with differing levels of piqued interest. “We’re government agents now; we should have secret code names.” She paused for effect. “I want to be called Mystique,” Raven declared, looking quite proud of herself. Kira figured this wasn’t the first time the girl had thought about this. 

“Damn!” the redheaded boy sitting across from them, Sean, exclaimed, a goofy pout on his face. “I wanted to be called Mystique.” Kira couldn’t help but chuckle at his antics. 

“Well tough! I called it!” A ripple of blue passed over the blonde’s skin and all of a sudden a second Sean stood in her place. Kira jumped in surprise.

“Holy shit!” Kira jerked, startled at the sudden display, as Darwin, the dark skinned man across the room let out a “Woah!” 

“And I’m way more mysterious than you,” the Sean next to Kira drawled out, wiggling his eyebrows before changing back into Raven. 

“That’s brilliant,” Kira admitted, grudgingly impressed by the other girl. Raven flashed a brilliant smile at her in response. 

“Darwin, what about you?” Raven asked, prompting the man in question to stand, explaining that ‘Darwin’ was already a nickname. 

“Check this out,” he smirked, strutting over to the fish tank against the wall. He shoved his entire head under the water and large gills appeared on the sides of his face. Everyone cheered and Kira nodded her head in silent appreciation. 

“What about you?” he asked, pointing at Sean. The boy clasped his hands together and donned a contemplative face.

“I’m gonna be...Banshee.” Kira quirked an eyebrow curiously. 

“Why do you want to be named after a wailing spirit?” the nerdy guy on the other side of Raven asked. Kira couldn’t remember his name...something with an H.

Sean instructed everyone to cover their ears and Kira immediately shoved her pointer fingers in hers. The boy bent down, his face level to the coffee table placed between the two couches. He sucked in a deep breath of air, turning his face to wink at Kira, before letting out a high pitched whistle. His aim apparently wasn’t very good, as he missed the glasses atop the coffee table and instead shattered the sole large window in the room. 

Everyone laughed but Kira laughed the loudest, clapping loudly at the accidental destruction of government property. 

The pretty dark haired girl sitting on the other couch was apparently up next, declaring that her stage name was ‘Angel’. Kira automatically felt a kinship towards the girl; they both clearly knew what it was like to need to resort to unsavory methods of making enough money to survive. The girl took off her leather jacket and Kira noticed the intricate tattoos decorating her shoulders and back. She gazed at them in appreciation: Kira herself had several tattoos, after all.

The ‘tattoos’ suddenly pried away from her tanned skin and became beautiful insect-like wings. They fluttered quickly and Kira let out a low whistle. As a little girl she had always wanted to fly and she imagined her younger self would have been infinitely jealous. Angel turned and spit some kind of acidic liquid out of her mouth, which shot out the window and landed on a statue, melting the top of it. 

“I’m turned on and disgusted,” Darwin quipped, prompting Kira to roll her eyes.

“What’s your name?” Angel asked the boy with glasses--Hank! That was his name!-- whilst putting her jacket back on. Hank looked sheepish at the question, clearly uncomfortable under everyone’s expectant gaze. 

“How about Bigfoot?” the blonde kid, Alex, who had been quiet thus far suggested. He looked pretty smug at his dig and chuckled before taking a sip from his drink.

“Well you know what they say about guys with big feet. And, uh, yours are kind of small,” Raven sassed, causing Alex to sneer at her. Kira let out a loud laugh and pat the girl on the back. 

After everyone’s snickers died down, people began asking Alex what his gift was. He scratched his head in response, stuttering out that he couldn’t do it there. In response everyone insisted he go outside and show them, cheering him on when he looked hesitant at the idea. 

Once everyone started chanting his name Alex acquiesced and walked outside, standing in front of the statue Angel had burned just a few minutes before. The rest of the young mutants stood behind the wall, peering around the corner of it so they could see his display. 

“Get back!” he yelled, gesturing with his arm for them to hide behind the wall. Initially they did so, but curiosity got the best of Kira and she peeked her head around the corner again. Everyone else followed her lead. 

“Get back!” he yelled again, annoyance in his tone. No one budged and he mumbled ‘whatever’ under his breath. Wanting a better view, Kira stepped into the middle of the opening where the window once was, standing boldly out in the open. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Alex shouted at her. “Get the fuck back or you’re going to get hurt!” She could tell she was pushing the limits of his patience, but didn’t move a muscle except to raise her eyebrows in defiance, as if to say she wasn’t scared. He shook his head in frustration, but turned his attention back to the statue in front of him. 

He began moving his body in a circling motion and red rings of energy formed around him. His motions grew faster until he threw the energy rings, effectively cutting the statue in half and setting it on fire. A stray ring of energy zipped towards Kira, hitting the ground right in front of her feet. She didn’t so much as flinch.

“You got a deathwish?!” Alex yelled at her, eyes blazing furiously. Everyone else had jumped back when it happened and now looked apprehensive towards the two. Kira simply shrugged returning back to her seat on the couch as though nothing happened. “Hey!” he shouted at her again, approaching her with fists clenched. She turned her gaze to meet his eyes, her jade ones sporting a bored look. “What is wrong with you?” 

“You don’t scare me,” she said simply, and the truth was that he really didn’t. Nothing really scared her in this life other than her sister’s suffering. Kira figured she would be okay standing in the open--which she was-- but if he had hurt her accidentally, well, perhaps she deserved it. 

Something sparked in his eyes and she recognized it, having seen it looking back at her in the mirror many times. He was so furious because he had hurt someone before. Her eyes softened as she felt the guilt creep in, mumbling a quiet apology as she cast her gaze down to her lap.

“What about you, Kira? What can you do?” Raven asked her, breaking the incredibly awkward silence that hung in the room. 

“Prepare to be amazed,” Kira declared dramatically, rubbing her hands together and she stood up from her seat. She held her hands out in front of her, arms bent, and squinted her eyes in concentration. She conjured a raven to appear in the air, making it flutter over and land atop the blonde’s head. The girl squealed in delight. Kira smirked, focusing her attention on Angel. She willed two giant white wings and a halo to appear on the girl, who rolled her eyes playfully in response. Last, she closed her eyes and focused all her power on herself. A chorus of gasps filled her ears and she opened her eyes to shocked faces. 

“You disappeared!” Raven said, eyes wide. 

“Nope, still right here,” Kira assured, keeping up her illusion of being invisible.

“How?” Hank asked, not sure what exactly her powers were. Kira let the illusion fall and took a bow when everyone--minus Alex, who was still pissed at her-- applauded. 

“Charles calls it ‘illusion manipulation,’” she explained. “Basically I can make you all see, hear, feel, etc. whatever I want by creating illusions.”

“I got it!” Raven exclaimed, standing up and clapping her hands together in excitement. “Sorceress.”

“Sorceress,” Kira drawled out, testing the name on her tongue. Her lips pulled up into a pleased smirk. “I like it.”


	4. Chapter 4

After the groups little show and tell, everyone dispersed to find a way to entertain themselves. Alex and Darwin were animatedly playing the pinball machine on one side of the room, apparently getting quite competitive as their voices occasionally could be heard tossing insults and trash talk at one another. Sean sat next to Angel, clearly trying to flirt with the poor girl who seemed less than interested. Hank and Raven were perched on two stools by the counter in the kitchenette talking to one another in hushed tones. Kira sat by herself on the couch opposite Angel and Sean, simply observing her fellow mutants. 

She liked them all fine, she thought, but she couldn’t help but wish her sister was here. She would have loved to meet all these new people, to have joined in on their cheers and laughs. Of course Kira knew that Lara was fine, Charles had assured her of that. She just hoped her twin could join them all soon. 

“Hey, didn’t Charles say there would be eight of us total? There are only seven of us,” Raven ironically observed. Kira sighed. 

“The last one is my twin sister, Lara,” she explained, causing everyone’s eyes to fall on her.

“There’s another one of you? Nice,” Sean smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. Angel whacked the back of his head.

“Where is she?” Angel asked, turning her eyes back to Kira and tilting her head curiously.

“Not exactly sure, to be frank. Charles took her elsewhere until she can control her powers a little better.” At everyone’s waiting stares she continued. “It’s not my place to explain everything to you, but to put it simply Lara gets very overwhelmed around people.” 

When the others realized that she was not going to say any more on the matter, they resumed their respective activities. With a huff, Kira stood up and walked over to the refrigerator and poured herself another Coke, filling the glass only two-thirds of the way full. She reached into the inside pocket of her leather jacket and pulled out a decent size flask, filling the rest of the glass up with the rum it held. 

Raven raised an eyebrow at her, having seen her spike her drink. Kira held the flask towards the blonde as if to ask if she wanted some. Raven’s mouth quirked into a smile as she grabbed it from her hand and poured some into her own glass. Hank looked weary, unsure of whether or not he approved of the alcohol that had been brought into the mix.

Soon enough, though, everyone’s drinks had been spiked and they all sat back down on the couches. She was suddenly glad she had brought two, as there was plenty to go around. 

“I say we play a little game,” Raven suggested once a pleasant buzz had started to hit everyone in the circle. 

“What kind of game?” Hank asked her, clearly weary of what she had in mind. 

“I say we go around and each person gets to ask someone else a question, and that person has to answer honestly or else they have to drink.” The thought of sharing secrets clearly made a few of the group uncomfortable, some more than others, but Raven held steadfast in her idea. “Look, we are going to be a team now. We should know a little about our teammates.” Kira couldn’t deny the girl had a point, although personally knew that she would probably be drinking more often than she would be answering any questions.

“I’ll go first,” Raven decided, scanning the group of faces to decide who she would ask a question. “Angel,” she picked, pointing her finger at the other girl. “When did you get your powers?” 

“I was fourteen,” she said. “I woke up one morning in a cocoon--crazy, right?-- and when I broke out of it I had these tattoos. I was looking at them in the mirror when all of a sudden, BAM, they turned into wings.” 

“A cocoon? Fascinating,” Hank mused, his scientific mind whirring at the information.

“Alright, Alex,” Angel decided after a moment of deliberation. “Why were you in solitary confinement?” Everyone looked at her, surprised. “What? I overheard people talking about it.”

“I chose to be in solitary,” he mumbled, avoiding eye contact with anyone. “Better than hurting someone.” Silence fell upon the room, pitying glances being cast his way.

“Kira,” Alex finally said, breaking the silence and looking her dead in the eyes. “What’s with the scars on your face?” Kira flinched at the question, a hand reaching up and running a finger over the two lines that marred her skin from the middle of her forehead to her left eyebrow. Instead of answering she downed the rest of her drink in a single go. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Alex said, eyes hard. “You owe me for that stunt you pulled earlier.” Kira’s eyes bore into his, her gaze a fierce glare that she hoped would make him back off. It didn’t work. She looked him straight in the eyes, her stare unflinching and her jade eyes turning stoney. 

“My foster father came home especially belligerent one night and decided to chuck a broken whiskey bottle at my sister. I stepped in front of her and it caught me in the face. Even though the cuts were so deep and wouldn’t stop bleeding, he refused to take me to the hospital. They never got stitched up, hence the scar.”

Throughout her whole admission she refused to look away from his eyes, taking pleasure in the way his anger turned to guilt. Once again a deafening silence hung in the room. When Alex went to say something, she excused herself harshly while grabbing the rest of her liquor and taking it with her. 

She planned to finish the rest of it alone in her room, hoping it would ward away the nightmares she knew would come. 

***

Lara had been laying on the bed practicing constructing and deconstructing the mental barriers Charles had taught her when the door opened. She continued staring at the ceiling, keeping her concentration focused on her practicing, even when someone entered the room and closed the door behind them.

“Your sister got everyone drunk last night and then locked herself in her room,” Charles’s voice filled the room, effectively breaking her concentration. “Thus far she refuses to come out.” Lara couldn’t tell if his voice sounded amused or annoyed, eventually deciding it was probably a bit of both.

“That sounds like Kira,” she said, heaving her body into a sitting position on the bed to look at Charles. His hair was once again neatly styled and he wore a clean, simple button down shirt tucked into a nice pair of slacks. She got the impression he rarely dressed down. 

“I guess they decided to play some game where they asked each other questions. She didn’t want to answer one, was forced to, and made a dramatic exit.” Lara sighed. Kira was never one to open up and she could imagine her twin did not take kindly to being forced into doing so.

“Dare I ask what the question was?” 

“How she got her scars.”

Lara groaned and flopped back down on the bed in exasperation. Out of all the things to ask, it had to be that. Guilt creeped up through her veins as it normally did when she thought of her twin’s scars. They were her fault and it killed her.

“You’re projecting,” Charles said gently, feeling the full extent of her guilt. He had see Kira’s answer in Alex’s mind so he knew why the poor girl felt this way. It broke his heart to realize, though, just how tortured Lara was over it.

By now he was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at her with concern. She cringed and muttered an apology, focusing on putting back up her mental barrier. 

“Good, Lara, I can no longer feel your emotions,” he praised, a sad smile on his face. 

“Nor I yours,” she mumbled, distracted by her own self-loathing. 

“Lara,” he gently said, laying a hand on hers. “You must not blame yourself…”

“I don’t wish to talk about this, Charles.” The clipped response and her pulling her hand away sharply shocked him; despite only knowing Lara a very brief period of time he had learned that she was a soft spoken, open girl. Apparently some things made even the most resilient people shut down. 

“I apologize,” he whispered, at a loss as to what else to say. The young woman suddenly popped up off the bed and looked at him with a determined look in her eyes. 

“Take me to my sister, please.” It wasn’t a request, it was a demand. His eyes searched hers and found that her resolve would not waver. He sighed, nodding and motioning for her to follow him. He lead her down the hallway to where the rest of the mutants were living, all the while keeping an eye on her to make sure she was okay. 

Lara could feel her face pull in concentration as she actively worked to keep her barriers up. People passed them on their walk to her sister and, though it was extremely difficult, for the first time since she was young she didn’t feel a single other person’s emotions. If she wasn’t so concerned for her twin she probably would have jumped up and down in glee. 

Minutes later they stood in front of Kira’s door and Lara tentatively knocked. When there was no answer she knocked again, this time announcing her presence. The floor flung open, revealing a very haggard Kira. When she saw Charles behind her twin, Kira tried to slam the door shut, but Lara stopped it with a hand before she did so. She turned to Charles and gave him a pointed look, silently telling him to leave so she could talk to her distressed sister. He reluctantly nodded and left the two alone. 

When Lara entered the room her heart lurched in her chest. She softly closed the door behind her as she took in the disaster before her. Clothes were strewn across the room, holes had been punched in the walls, the mattress was on the other side of the room than the bed frame. She turned to look at her sister and had to fight back tears. 

Kira’s dark eyeliner was smeared around her eyes and streaked down her cheeks. Her normally vibrant green eyes were dull and bloodshot. Her deep auburn hair was half pulled out of its normal curly bun and was sticking out in all directions. Her knuckles were torn and bloody. 

Lara let the barrier come down and felt her sister’s emotions crash over her in waves. There were so many: anger, bitterness, despair, helplessness, self-loathing, the list went on. Before it overwhelmed her completely she slammed her mental walls back up and embraced her now sobbing twin. She sat them both down on the mattress, Kira clinging to her shirt for dear life as she let out strangled wails. Lara could smell the alcohol still on her breath. 

The two twins sat there for hours, one of their heart’s in disarray and the other desperately wishing she could fix it.


End file.
